Invention

Patent number

Country

Company

Julius Blum GmbH

Sector

Furniture

The invention in a nutshell

This damper system for cabinet hinges is
completely silent and virtually invisible but has achieved resounding economic
success nonetheless.

Manufactured
by Austrian kitchen hardware manufacturer Blum, Blumotion works a little like a
car's suspension system: It is outfitted with a piston moving inside a pressure
tube filled with a hydraulic liquid in order to allow doors, lift systems or
drawer runners to be shut gently. Blumotion has conquered international markets
and is helping home owners around the world to put an end to the loud slamming
of cabinet doors.

Societal benefit

Today's kitchens are sleek, stylish and
minimalist. The Blumotion damper system embodies these traits with the added
bonus of being almost completely silent. Its acceptance by consumers reflects
an evolving interior design market, one that is more focused on simplicity and
comfort without sacrificing function. Today, Blumotion can be incorporated into
virtually any kind of furniture imaginable.

Economic benefit

Since Blumotion's release, Blum's earnings
skyrocketed to about €1.3 billion per year, providing job security for some
5,500 employees - 4,000 of them in Vorarlberg, Austria, where the company is
the region's largest employer. Blum is also a driver of innovation, reinvesting
4% of its profits into research and development. What's more, it is one of the
most active patent filers in Austria, with 1,000 patents in its portfolio, 10
of which concern Blumotion. Blum exports to more than 100 countries worldwide.